Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is a tremendous global problem. The numbers are staggering: according to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. According to UNICEF, nearly 1 in 4 adolescent girls ages 15-19 experience physical violence and approximately 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide have experienced rape or other forms of sexual assault. It’s not just girls and women: sexual and gender-based violence also traumatizes 1 in 6 boys and men. Behind each of these numbers is a young person for whom the physical and emotional effects of violence can be traumatic and long-lasting. 

In 2019, in partnership with the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation, No Means No Worldwide (NMNW) undertook a pilot project to address the issue of sexual violence in South Africa. South Africa has some of the highest rates of sexual violence in the entire world and the government has made firm commitments to addressing the problem. In 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa proclaimed: “There is a dark and heavy shadow across our land. Women and children are under siege. South Africa is one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.” 

While there has been large-scale investment in aftercare for survivors, there has been much less focus on prevention. Many youth do not fully understand their rights, and the rights of others, to live free of sexual violence. No Means No Worldwide (NMNW) believes that prevention works! Education, empowerment, and training are central to effective prevention, and No Means No is a measurable and proven model to prevent sexual harassment, assault and rape. The No Means No program teaches youth to know they are worth defending, to understand concepts of consent and respect for boundaries, and provides tangible skills for stopping cycles of violence and preventing or escaping an assault. To bring an end to sexual violence, NMNW is working to spread that model as widely and as effectively as possible, working hand-in-hand with local partners.

Rooted in empowerment self-defense, the No Means No program provides youth ages 10-20 with knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practical skills to prevent sexual violence. Instructors teach about the importance of consent in relationships, healthy masculinity, appropriate boundaries in relationships, how to be an upstander not a bystander, and even how to break away from an attacker.

With the help of the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation, No Means No Worldwide was able to bring this vital program to children and youth in South Africa for the first time in 2019-2020. NMNW partnered with NACOSA, a network of over 1,500 civil society organizations working together to turn the tide on HIV, AIDS and TB in Southern Africa, to train 68 women from 5 provinces throughout the country as No Means No Instructors. Immediately following each training, NMNW provided six weeks of technical assistance  to NACOSA and their sub-partners to ensure they, and their newly trained Instructors, had all the necessary tools and training to launch effective No Means No programs. 

This pilot introduction of No Means No in South Africa was extremely successful. Instructors reached 1,500 girls with knowledge and skills to uphold their rights. These girls demonstrated a 48% improvement in knowledge of their rights and how to protect themselves, and a 27% improvement in their attitudes towards gender equality, as measured in pre/post tests. The project proved to be an important learning opportunity as NMNW began the work of scaling up nationally and globally. The initial support from the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation was a direct catalyst for NMNW successfully securing a significant amount of additional funding aimed at growing and locally sustaining this pilot project. Since the initial pilot, NMNW has continued to work closely with NACOSA and their network of partners, began implementing programming for boys, and established No Means No South Africa, a hub in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. In 2021, a total of 31,645 youth graduated from No Means No programs in South Africa! By continuing this critical work, NMNW aims to make generational change in ensuring the current and future children of South Africa can live safe, healthy lives free from sexual violence.